


It's A Marvelous Life

by butyoumight



Category: Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, It's a Wonderful Life, Whole Plot Reference
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-28
Updated: 2011-12-21
Packaged: 2017-10-26 15:47:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/285054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/butyoumight/pseuds/butyoumight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><i>"I couldn't show him. He had to figure it out for himself. But I can show you, Captain." "Show me what?" "What it would be like, without you."</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> _Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger_ meets _It's a Wonderful Life_. Merry Christmas, fandom.

They hadn't been back on the ship fifteen minutes, and already Marvelous was well into his second bottle of rum. Maybe he was drinking too heavily. He was probably drinking too heavily.

Slumped in his chair, he had a perfect, albeit blurry view of Ahim following Joe as he paced. He wasn't sure what they were saying, though, because all he could hear was Gai and Don in the galley, speaking tensely about the fight they'd just barely escaped.

Guilt washed over Marvelous as he tore his eyes away from Joe and Ahim, contemplating his now empty bottle of rum.

He stood up suddenly. Ahim and Joe stopped pacing.

"Marvelous?" Joe asked.

Ahim took a step towards him. "You have bled through your bandage, Marvelous-san."

He waved a hand, though it felt like his arm was moving too slowly. "It's nothing." His words were lightly slurred, even he could tell.

No matter. He moved towards the exit that led out onto the deck.

Joe stepped into his way, but his attempt at waylaying his Captain lost some of its effectiveness when Marvelous noticed him limping heavily on his right leg. This just spurred Marvelous on.

"Where are you going?" Joe asked tersely. There was a crease between his eyebrows that Marvelous recognized as Joe struggling not to feel pain. Stupid reckless idiot.

"I'm out of rum."

"Stay in." Joe said softly, reaching for Marvelous' arm. Marvelous stepped out of his reach with a scowl.

"Marvelous-san..." Ahim said warningly as the Captain stepped around Joe.

Joe took another limping step after him. "I'll come with you."

"No!" Marvelous snapped, turning too fast and swaying slightly as the room started to spin.

"It could be dangerous, Marvelous-san." Ahim said, fixing him with a serious look as he took a stumbling step backwards.

"Marvelous-san! Dinner's... Oh?" Gai stared at the group near the doorway, frowning. "Is... Is something wrong?"

"I'm going out!" Marvelous shouted. "I'm going out, and I don't see why it's such a problem! You're all hurt, so just stay here and _rest_ , damn it!"

Gai gasped a little. Don had appeared behind him at some point, and he dropped the whisk he'd been holding. Ahim looked very much like she wanted to slap him. Only Joe seemed nonplussed by his action, turning away with a snort and a vague gesture, inviting him to leave.

Marvelous stormed out onto the deck, swinging out onto one of the anchor lines and sliding to the ground. He thought he might have heard Luka calling his name from the crow's nest, but maybe it was just the wind.

X

It was definitely cold out tonight. It was even starting to snow, which was very beautiful in its way, but not altogether a good thing, considering Marvelous had forgotten his coat on the Galleon. Still, he was drunk enough that he wasn't really feeling the cold yet. His body shuddered of its own accord occasionally, but generally he felt fine. Physically anyway.

Mentally was another story.

He'd been kicked out of the bar he'd decided to go to, and while he was sure he could fight the obviously xenophobic proprietor to the death, he had to admit that he was too sloppy, and the thought of how Gai would react to his Captain committing such an awful act had stayed his fists.

Now he was on a bridge, watching the water float serenely along beneath him and wondering when things had gone so wrong.

"Zagin for your thoughts, Captain?"

A chill ran down Marvelous' spine. He had been fairly certain he was alone. His free hand gripped the icy metal of the safety rail in front of him, his other hand subtly shifted its grip on the sake bottle.

"Relax." The smooth deep voice continued. The speaker moved up beside him, leaning over a bit, watching the large snowflakes twirl past them only to dissolve immediately when they hit the water.

"I'm not an enemy to you." He continued softly, turning his head.

Marvelous squinted at this stranger. He was taller than Marvelous, dressed all in black with a long coat to match. His hair was shaggy, but not much longer than Gai's, and mostly dark except for two broad streaks of stark white that caught the moonlight and shone as bright as the snow.

"Who are you?" Marvelous asked, his curiosity (and the rum, and the sake) outweighing his instincts.

"That's a long story. But I suppose you can call me Bamick."

"Bamick." Marvelous repeated the name thoughtfully. It seemed strangely familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on why. "But who _are_ you?"

"Can I call you Marvelous, or do you prefer Captain?"

Marvelous frowned. "You know who I am?"

"A lot of people know who you are." Bamick said with a smile.

"Are you ever going to give me a straight answer?" Marvelous snapped, changing his grip on the sake bottle again and lifting it to his lips to drink some of it.

Bamick laughed. It wasn't particularly cruel, in fact it was sort of sweet. "Alright. Can't get a thing past you, eh?" He nodded. "What do you know about angels, Captain?"

Marvelous laughed right back at him, shaking his head. "Not a lot."

"How about spirits?" Bamick asked with a cocked eyebrow.

Marvelous stared at Bamick for a long moment before he laughed again. "Are you telling me you're my guardian angel?"

Bamick's eyes lit up. "You said you didn't know about such things."

Marvelous shrugged one shoulder with a smirk. "I've heard some stuff."

"Well then. You should be more honest with me. You could say that yes, I am _a_ guardian angel. But not just yours."

"I feel very special."

"You should. I don't make a lot of personal appearances. Now, why do you think I'm here, Cap?"

"I have no idea." Marvelous snapped.

"You were thinking some pretty dark thoughts..." Bamick prompted gently. "Anger. Disappointment. Maybe guilt?"

Marvelous scoffed, but it was a feeble attempt to cover his true feelings, the strange stabbing sensation in his heart. And judging by the look on Bamick's face, Marvelous' bravado wasn't fooling the self-proclaimed angel.

"What do I have to feel guilty about?"

"I could ask you the same question. You've done many great things."

"Sure have." Marvelous huffed, taking another long draw from his bottle.

"Then why do you feel this way?" Bamick asked gently. He leaned out over the rail again. The snow was falling harder now. Some of it caught in Bamick's hair, making more and more of it match the white streaks. "Why are you alone out here in the cold? You haven't eaten dinner, you yelled at your dear comrades..."

"I've made a lot of mistakes, too!" Marvelous cut him off with a shout. Bamick turned around suddenly, leaning back against the rail with his arms crossed.

"Do tell."

Marvelous scowled. He lifted the bottle to his lips again and found, much to his disappointment, that it was empty. He sighed at the bottle and considered throwing it at the pesky angel (far more annoying than any of the Goseigers had been).

"We lost, tonight. Joe got hurt, but the stupid bastard is always too busy worrying about me to take care of himself." Marvelous found that once he got started, he couldn't seem to shut himself up. "Luka wasn't even talking to us, I know she's angry. I promised them the Greatest Treasure in the Galaxy. What do we have to show for it? Nothing but a dead end. I don't know how we're supposed to get those Grand Powers back from Basco. They're all just waiting for me to tell them, and I have no idea. I'm no Captain. I couldn't even manage to sacrifice myself properly." Bamick tilted his head slightly at this, but made no move to stop him.

"I'm a fake. A fraud. And they'll follow me right to the gates of death. For what? They deserve better. They all deserve better. AkaRed deserved better..." Marvelous felt like his throat had closed over those last words, and a pricking at the corners of his eyes betrayed him. He sniffed, annoyed with himself. "If he hadn't been trying to protect me... If I hadn't..."

"That's a dangerous train of thought." Bamick mused quietly when the strain of Marvelous' words finally caught up with him. "Blaming yourself for another's freely made sacrifice. Reminds me of someone I used to know. He blamed himself a lot too. Broke him up inside. And he dreamed of how much happier the galaxy would be if he'd never entered it."

These words hit Marvelous like bullets. Again there was that strange feeling of familiarity, as if he should know this Bamick, or maybe the person of whom he was speaking.

"He was wrong." Bamick's voice had dropped slightly, it was deeper and he emphasized each word carefully. "He didn't know how important he was. Neither do you."

Marvelous swallowed hard. The empty sake bottle was still in his hand. He still wanted to throw it, but again his mind presented him with Gai's probable reaction to the Captain littering, and so he simply set the bottle on the ground.

"I couldn't show him. He had to figure it out for himself. But I can show you, Captain."

Marvelous crossed his arms. He was chilled suddenly, still drunk but not intoxicated enough to deaden the cold seeping into his bones. "Show me what?"

"What it would be like, without you."

Marvelous blinked. Then he blinked again. He tilted his head back, looking up and meeting Bamick's eyes. There was no hint of amusement, no twitch of a smile. Just a deadly seriousness.

"Really?"

Bamick nodded. "I can show you how important you are." He held out his hand. "The choice remains with you, of course. Come with me, see the Galaxy without you in it. Or return to your ship before you die of exposure."

Marvelous snorted, shaking his head. "Alright." He grabbed Bamick's hand. He had only a moment to contemplate the familiarity again, the calluses that Marvelous was sure he'd felt before.

And then the universe twisted, spun on its axis, flipped around and upside down, and Marvelous fell to his knees, sure he was going to be sick.


	2. Chapter 2

Marvelous' chest heaved as he gasped for air, his stomach rolling, rebelling. After a moment his head cleared, his stomach settled, and two things slowly occurred to him: one was the feeling of Bamick's calloused hand on the back of his head, fingers threaded in his hair; the other was how warm and thick the air tasted, choking him and making his throat ache.

"Alright?" Bamick's steady voice did wonders for Marvelous' shaky nerves and drunken stupor. Only he didn't feel drunk anymore. Just confused, very confused.

"What did you do to me?" Marvelous gritted out, still facing the ground. His fingers flexed into dry fine dirt.

"You thought alternate dimension travel was going to be easy?" Bamick chided. Marvelous frowned, shifting back to sit on his heels and look up at the angel. Behind him, the moon was setting, full and very red. Marvelous blinked a few times.

"I've been to other dimensions." He grumbled in a weak attempt to defend himself, standing up and brushing his pants off. The bridge they'd been standing on was gone. "Gunman World, Machine World. It didn't feel like that."

Bamick chuckled. "Those dimensions are parallel to yours. There's a difference. This one is _alternate_. You don't exist here, Captain, that's the whole point of this little field trip. That'd be hard on anyone."

Marvelous sighed and turned around to take in the landscape. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he was standing in a dried up river bed. The remains of the bridge were above them, a few feet on either side of the sloping banks.

"So." He said, forcing some false bravado. He was still a pirate. "Show me the sights."

Bamick raised an eyebrow, then turned, raising one arm and gesturing towards the top of the retreating red moon. "Earth is on the decline." He said quietly, his steady voice carrying an extreme amount of weight. You might think he was an Earthling himself. "Zangyack returned, as they did in your universe, to reattempt to take the Earth now that the planet had no further protection in the power of the Super Sentai."

Marvelous smirked, but when Bamick turned to face him, his eyes flashed dangerously and Marvelous' smirk froze half in place. Bamick looked away again, up and over Marvelous' head.

Marvelous felt the sun begin to rise behind him, warming him suddenly. He hadn't realized he was even cold.

Something about the steely look on Bamick's face gave Marvelous pause. He slowly turned around to face in the same direction as the angel, and his heart shuddered, caught between a leap and a tragic fall.

The GokaiGalleon was flying overhead.

Marvelous swallowed, his throat feeling dry. He looked over his shoulder at Bamick hopefully. "But AkaRed is here. Right? That's why you're showing me this."

Bamick's lips pursed, and he slowly shook his head. Marvelous' heart plummeted. "You mean..."

"AkaRed had only one crew member as he recovered Ranger Keys through the Galaxy. Basco ta Jolokia."

Marvelous snarled, a knee-jerk reaction to the name of his one greatest regret. "No." He growled harshly, shaking his head once to dispel the notion. "No. AkaRed could beat him. He died protecting me. From Zangyack. If I hadn't been there..."

"Basco tore him apart. You know, Captain, don't you? You know what Basco is capable of."

Marvelous felt ill again. He looked up as the ship, _his_ ship, cruised over them.

"Earth is not completely without defense." Bamick said suddenly. He seemed to be trying to give Marvelous hope.

Marvelous turned to face him again, and Bamick actually smiled softly. "Would you like to see?"

"See what?" Marvelous growled bitterly. "Why do I care about this stupid planet?"

Sid snorted. "Really, Captain? And what about the Greatest Treasure? You want Basco to get it?"

Marvelous huffed, turning to look up at Bamick with a scowl. "You're cruel, you know that?"

"Far from it." Bamick placed a hand on Marvelous' shoulder. The world twisted around them again, though this time Marvelous managed not to fall over.

He blinked a few times, squinting through a sudden gust of dusty wind.

"GoJyuDrill!" Marvelous exclaimed as he noticed the vehicle parked in front of him. "But what's it doing here?"

Bamick smiled again, and started walking towards the mech. Marvelous blinked. "Hey. Hey, wait!" He dashed forward to catch up with Bamick's long strides. "What if we're seen?"

"We won't be." Bamick said. "You're with me. We're observers here." He threw an arm around Marvelous' shoulders.

They circled GoJyuDrill, and Marvelous reeled back against Bamick's rapid forward motion. "Whoa!"

An entire tent village seemed to have been set up in this otherwise quite deserted wasteland. Marvelous stared, taking it all in. "Sousuke!" He said, pointing as he spotted the former Go-On Red dashing from one of the tents into the one patchwork building.

Bamick was smiling. "Yes. Come on." Bamick grabbed his arm and dragged Marvelous along and into the building.

Gai stood at the far end of the room, leaning over an enormous table. There were charts and maps tacked up all over the walls. Gai didn't look so very different from how Marvelous had last seen him, but when he looked up to greet Sousuke, there was a glint in his eyes that was familiar to Marvelous, though not on Gai. A certain air of leadership that was supported by the way Sousuke greeted him.

"Ikari-san! There's an attack in the city!"

Gai nodded and circled the table, grabbing up his GokaiCellular from the table as he went. "Gather the rest," he said as he drew even with Sousuke. Marvelous reflexively stepped aside as the pair of them ran out of the building, then turned to look at Bamick with a curious twist of his eyebrows.

"The rest of what?"

Bamick smiled and grabbed Marvelous' arm just above the elbow, leading him back outside where the apparent residents of the makeshift village were rushing around. Marvelous recognized some of them, like the Hurricangers and some of the Goseigers. Most of the people seemed to be generally raising the alarm, but some congregated around Gai as he strode purposefully towards GoJyuDrill.

"After Basco finished gathering the Ranger Keys, he made for Earth, still intent on the Greatest Treasure." Bamick explained softly. "But even without you and your comrades, Gai was still chosen to make a stand as GokaiSilver. Basco never could stand to trust anyone else with as much power as the Mobirates grant."

Marvelous took a stumbling step back, almost falling until Bamick stepped behind him and grabbed his shoulders to hold him up. As they approached GoJyuDrill, Gai held up his GokaiCellular and transformed. This was fairly unremarkable, but behind him, Sousuke drew a small device out of his jacket, and he transformed too. Not into a Gokaiger, but into Go-On Red.

Marvelous glanced up at Bamick's smile, and when he looked back, Gai's company had grown. He had nearly a dozen, from any number of teams. HurricaneBlue, the yellow Liveman, GoseiBlack, ShinkenGreen and Gold, and others. Many others.

"What?" Marvelous muttered, watching, perplexed, as they all boarded GoJyuDrill. "But how?"

Bamick chuckled quietly. "The first time Gai, or rather, GokaiSilver, fought Basco, he rather successfully destroyed a good number of his clones. Among the keys he retrieved were TimeFire, allowing him access to GoJyuDrill here, and Go-On Red. He tracked down your friend Sousuke, and asked him to fight with him. They've gathered a pretty impressive assortment since then, as you can see. To the point where Basco no longer summons Rangers to fight."

In front of them, GoJyuDrill lifted off the ground and streaked off. Those remaining behind at the village slowly returned to whatever they had been doing before the announcement of the attack. "All of these people... They're former Sentai members?"

"Yes." Bamick smiled warmly. "And more arrive every day."

"Why?"

"Some of them came to see if they could get their powers back. Mostly they're coming to do what they can to help. They're Earth's last defense, as they were before, now united under Gai's leadership and hope."

GoJyuDrill had completely faded into the distance, and the Sentai village had gone still and quiet. Bamick put his hand on Marvelous' shoulder, and Marvelous felt the world start to twist around them again.

"Wait. Will they win?" Marvelous asked, suddenly frantic, turning to grab Bamick's arm. "Can they? Is it possible?"

"I don't know that." Bamick admitted softly, shaking his head. "The future is still the future, after all, and yet to come. There are other things you need to see, Captain, before I take you home."

Any response Marvelous intended to make was lost as it left his mouth, twisted away as surely as the dry dusty landscape around them.


	3. Chapter 3

Marvelous thought he was getting pretty used to Bamick's preferred form of travel, or at least it wasn't leaving him feeling like he'd left his head and stomach both behind anymore.

He lifted his head, and for a moment he was surprised, not to mention confused, because at first glance he was standing in the main room of his own Galleon. It quickly occurred to him that something was amiss, though, and upon a second more thorough look around, Marvelous' stomach felt very much like it was attempting to crawl up his throat.

Behind him, the familiar crest of an open Ranger Key over crossed swords was missing. In its place, unsurprisingly, was the crest from Basco's flag. That alone was enough to make Marvelous' skin crawl, but it got worse. Most of the furniture was in its regular places, but the chest beside his chair was open, and instead of being full of Ranger Keys, it held two very familiar weapons: Basco's stupid horn, and his golden gun. There were none of the familiar coats hanging on the rack, only Basco's red knit shawl and his long feathered scarf.

Across the room, Marvelous saw that the shelf that usually held Ahim's collection of tea implements, pots and cups and so forth, had been replaced by some sort of brightly lit display case. Even from this distance, Marvelous could see that it was filled with carefully arranged Ranger Keys. The large dining table Marvelous had had to invest in when they'd added Don to the crew was missing.

The worst of the changes was perched on the small table that Marvelous recognized as the very same one he had shared with Basco, once upon a time.

"Bird!" Marvelous crossed the room quickly, forgetting momentarily that he was incorporeal in this alternate universe. Of course, his hands passed cleanly through the chain that looped around Navi's little feet and led across the cabin to the post in its center.

Marvelous cursed softly under his breath, turning to advance on Bamick. "Why would you show me this?"

Bamick looked past Marvelous, as calm as could be, and Marvelous restrained himself from punching the angel across the face when he heard heavy footfalls coming up the stairs.

"Navi-chan!"

Marvelous cursed again, recognizing the voice, and it took every fiber of his being not to throw himself at the smug bastard as he entered the room, even knowing he'd simply pass through. As it was, he clenched his fists until the knuckles cracked, and Bamick placed a hand on Marvelous' shoulder, as if he too expected the Captain to attempt something foolish.

"Any luck today, Navi-chan?" Basco asked, crossing the room to crouch down beside the table, crossing his arms on the surface and resting his chin atop them. "Do we have a prophecy today?"

Navi cooed softly, and Marvelous felt a stab of pain in his chest that he recognized as guilt. He'd made Navi make that sound before, pressuring her to navigate when she didn't have any control over the process. Bamick's hand tightened on Marvelous' shoulder and Marvelous looked up at him. "Why are you showing me this? You already told me Basco had the ship. What-"

Bamick lifted his free hand and held his forefinger over his mouth. "Wait. She's on her way."

"She?" Marvelous questioned, and sure enough, behind him came more footsteps. He assumed the she Bamick was referring to must be Basco's companion Sally, so he was more than a little startled when a familiar voice rang up the stairs, well in advance of the speaker.

"That kid with his Sentai team is attacking again!"

"Luka." Marvelous' voice seemed to catch in his throat, making the name come out as little more than a pained whisper.

Luka entered the cabin. She didn't look so different from how she was on Marvelous' crew, though she was dressed mostly in reds and blacks, obviously colors favored not by herself but by Basco. However, there were dark circles around her eyes that belied her cheery tone of voice. And around her neck was something very familiar to Marvelous, something that sent chills through him. The same kind of electric transmitter that Joe had been collared with when they'd first met, complete with the Zangyack crest on the front.

"Lu-tan!" Basco cried with false brightness, standing up and crossing his arms as he turned towards her. "What was that?"

Luka rolled her eyes and sighed. "That kid. That silver kid. He's got his whole team out in the city."

Basco stood up and crossed the cabin, ushering Luka into the galley while they continued their conversation. Marvelous turned to grab Bamick's arm as hard as he could, digging his fingers in, grateful that at least the angel was still solid to him. "Explain. Explain this."

Bamick sighed softly, shrugging one shoulder. "You think Luka would have escaped, the day you met her, without your intervention?"

Marvelous dropped his gaze, staring at the floor, feeling suddenly guilty. Bamick continued anyway.

"She was captured, of course, and I suppose you could say she was lucky not to be executed on the spot. She spent a year or so in prison, but she seemed like a prime candidate for reform. Use her skills for the good of the Empire."

He sighed again. "Basco... On Earth, I think they might call him something of a parole officer. The Empire pays him to keep any eye on her, keep her busy, and most of all keep her away from Zangyack ships. She seems happy enough, I suppose. But the collar will most likely never come off. She's only so trustworthy, you know."

"She's one of the only people in the galaxy I trust with my life," Marvelous snapped fiercely.

"Only thanks to you. And I suppose your Joe did his part too. Again, you fail to realize what an incredible difference you've made, if not throughout the galaxy, then certainly to the lives of your crew. You chose them, after all."

Bamick gripped Marvelous' shoulder again, but it felt less reassuring this time. Now it seemed to serve only the purpose of steadying him, and Marvelous realized that he did need the extra support, as Basco and Luka exited the galley again.

"He still cooks?" Marvelous snorted, grasping for any weak humor in the situation and failing spectacularly.

"They have to eat, don't they?" Bamick answered the rhetorical absently.

Marvelous stared blankly as Luka and Basco sat down to eat. This Luka paid as much gentle attention to Navi as his Luka might have done, but she was obviously unsurprised by the chain holding the robotic bird down.

"What about his monkey?" Marvelous asked suddenly as they ate, trying not to listen to them nonchalantly discussing how best to dispose of Gai over a plate of pasta.

"Monkey?" Bamick asked, his voice slow. He turned to face Marvelous slowly, blinking as if coming out of a dream. "Oh. You mean Sally."

"Of course I mean Sally." Marvelous snapped again, losing patience with his supposed guardian angel. "Why doesn't he have her?"

"He never needed her." Bamick blinked, his tone indicated that he obviously thought this should be common knowledge. "Basco makes only enough room in his life for things he needs that are useful to him."

At the table, Basco stood up. "Well, it's decided. Since our Navi-chan has no good ideas for us today, we'll attack the Sentai directly."

"Sure thing." Luka agreed, also standing and gathering the dirty dishes off the table as Basco twirled away, passing Marvelous and Bamick on his way to the ship's cockpit.

Marvelous turned to look at Bamick again, grabbing both of his arms this time and shaking him. "What's he mean? He's not going to attack that village, is he? He can't, they're defenseless, aren't they?"

Bamick raised one eyebrow slowly. "You would put that past Basco?"

Marvelous felt like he'd been stabbed, like air was rapidly going out of him, leaving him as deflated as an empty balloon. "Bastard..." He grumbled softly to himself.

Bamick seized Marvelous' upper arms in a firm grip. "It's time for us to go."

Marvelous looked up at him with a frown, but he nodded. The ship gave the familiar shudder that Marvelous recognized as hoisting anchor, but that was the last he felt as his feet left the floor and the world twisted around them once more.


	4. Chapter 4

Marvelous felt like he was falling as they arrived, existence shifting around them slightly as his boots touched solid ground. He blinked, looking up and out as Bamick released his grip and stepped away. Marvelous took a steadying breath, and the air felt light in his lungs.

Bamick began to move, walking along the little path they'd landed on, but Marvelous held out a hand to stop him. "Wait," he lifted his hand and pointed into the sky. "We're not on Earth?"

Wherever they were, the view was breathtaking, and also curiously familiar to Marvelous for some reason. Rising above the horizon was a large ringed planet, which indicated that they were actually on a moon, all the more likely as further down on the horizon was rising what appeared to be another moon.

"Of course not." Bamick answered, waiting a few paces away with his arms crossed and a small smile playing around the corners of his mouth. "Some of your crew never would have made it to Earth without you."

Marvelous frowned. "I'm sensing a theme."

"I thought you knew what you were getting yourself into, when you agreed to come with me." Bamick jerked his head. "Come on."

With a sigh, and another glance at the impressive skyline in the distance, Marvelous followed.

The path in question was fairly simple, plain dust, no signs or any indication that they were on any particularly well populated place.

"Hey," Marvelous stepped up his pace, catching up to Bamick and reaching to grab his arm. "I recognize this place now. This is where we almost lost that fight with Zangyack, busted the main computer. This is where we picked up Doc. Isn't it?"

Bamick turned his head slightly and nodded. "Very good."

The path they were following seemed to lead someplace specific, as they finally reached level ground and the path spread out into a dusty plain, solely populated with a small cluster of ramshackle buildings.

Bamick strode towards the buildings purposefully, and Marvelous made sure to keep up.

One of the doors swung open, and Marvelous reeled back a bit, prompting Bamick to pause.

Exiting the smallest of the buildings was definitely Don, though after spending so long with him standing on his right side in green, seeing him in a long white lab coat was a little odd, to say the least.

He was wiping his hands on a rag, leaving long streaks of dark grease that matched the same on his cheek, as well as a slick of it in his golden hair. He was frowning, too, and muttering to himself, though quietly enough that Marvelous couldn't catch the words, only the tone of frustration.

He was limping slightly as well, and Marvelous felt a twist in his stomach at the sight of one of his crew obviously wounded.

"Come," Bamick repeated, grabbing Marvelous' arm just above the elbow and dragging him towards the most central building in the cluster, where Don was also headed.

They slid in just before Don closed the door, and Marvelous glanced around, immediately surprised by the absolute organization in the room. The walls were lined with bins and boxes of all sizes, every one of them neatly labeled.

Then his eyes caught the tiny table in the center of the room, and the person sitting there. Apparently in this universe, Don didn't live alone in his little repair shop as he had when Luka had found him and attempted to convince him to fix the Galleon, quickly and possibly even for free.

"Ahim!"

"Don-san!" Ahim said, standing up from the table, shutting an ornate journal that Marvelous recognized as one of her mementos of her destroyed planet. "Is something wrong?" She tucked her journal away in one larger box that Marvelous now saw was labeled with her name, and immediately set about making tea.

"I'm just tired of working for them." Don grumbled, sitting down at the table and resting his chin in his hands.

Ahim smiled softly, and Marvelous recognized the soothing tone of her voice. "It is a shame, Don-san, but we must be thankful for the good things. At least they do not force you to work on their base. Lip service to the Empire is a small price to pay for your life, Don-san."

"And yours." Don agreed readily, perking up slightly when Ahim placed a cup of tea in front of him. "I think I would have gone crazy if we'd never met."

Ahim laughed and shushed him, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. "If we had never met, Don-san, I am sure I would probably be dead."

Don chuckled too, and he sounded more like Marvelous' own Doc.

"What are they talking about?" Marvelous said quietly, as though they could hear him. He looked up at Bamick, who was watching the pair with a fond smile.

Don had stood up, and now they were together cooking. It reminded Marvelous of what felt like lifetimes ago, before Gai had joined them. But still different. Don's limp was no better, and Marvelous was beginning to suspect it wasn't a fresh wound but an old, more permanent injury.

"How did she get here?"

Bamick moved around the room slowly, taking it in. "Zangyack is attempting to claim this moon's planet, but they are showing incredible planet-wide resistance. They've set up a base and a ship-yard near here. Your Doc is very talented,"

"I know that." Marvelous said, moving closer to the table as Don and Ahim started setting their food out. "Better than he does, I think."

"That might well be true. Zangyack recognizes it too. He does good work, quickly and cheaply."

Marvelous snapped his head around with a frown. "He's working for Zangyack." He said flatly, as Ahim's earlier words sank in.

"On a freelance basis, yes. He fixes their ships, does some upgrades. In exchange, they leave him alone here. They trust him."

"Great." Marvelous grumbled, moving away from the table again as the pair of them sat down to eat.

"It is, after a fashion. The princess was attempting to reach this planet, an old ally of Famille, when Zangyack shot her down. She crashed nearby, and your doctor found her. Zangyack assumes she is now dead. This might be the safest place in the galaxy for her, right now."

Marvelous looked at Bamick, who was watching the pair at the table with an uncommon fondness. Ahim reached across the table to pat Don's hand, and the mechanic smiled at her.

"They seem happy." Marvelous said softly. He didn't expect an answer, but Bamick approached him, taking hold of his elbow once more.

"As happy as anyone living in constant fear can be. But you can't imagine that they are happier like this, can you?"

Marvelous shrugged. "I don't know. This way, neither of them have to fight."

"Consider this, then. Do you really think either of them is fighting beside you against their will? Out of a misplaced sense of obligation?"

Marvelous swallowed. It was true enough. Even when Don complained or tried to run away, his resistance was always short lived. He may not love the fight, but he'd never actively run from it. And as for Ahim, well. The princess had recently proved she was probably more devoted to the defeat of Zangyack than any of them, certainly more than she was to the hunt for treasure.

The familiar tugging feeling started up again, Marvelous' feet drifting off the ground.

"Time to go, captain." Marvelous thought that Bamick's words were more felt than heard, as the cozy scene of Don and Ahim together twisted and petered out.


	5. Chapter 5

It was night once more when they arrived where ever it was Bamick had taken them. Gravity was again stronger here, and an immense chill spread through Marvelous, clearing his head of its spinning but not of the questions he was yearning to ask.

His stomach felt uneasy as he glanced around and realized that they were on Earth, in the midst of moderate snowfall. They were back where they'd first met, on the bridge overlooking the peaceful river that in an alternate reality was no more than a ruin in a dried bed.

"Hey." Marvelous growled as Bamick stepped away, turned his back and obviously made to leave with no effort made to drag Marvelous along. "Hey, wait just a minute."

Bamick paused and Marvelous stomped after him. Bamick glanced over his shoulder and Marvelous paused a step away. Bamick's eyes were dark, his face held no hint of the kindly reassuring smile Marvelous had come to expect from him. When he spoke, his voice was tight and cold. "Go back to your crew now, captain." He paused, glancing up towards the sky. "They're worried about you."

"That's not fair. You said you were going to show me the galaxy without me."

"You've seen all that I have to show." Bamick said shortly.

"The hell I have!" Marvelous shouted, grabbing Bamick by the arm and hauling him around to face him. "I want to see Joe." He growled, grabbing the front of Bamick's coat and shaking him slightly. "Take me back and show me Joe."

Bamick closed his eyes. When he looked at Marvelous again, the captain read pain there, pain and weary sadness. "There is nothing to show you." He stated softly.

"What do you mean? Surely-"

"No!" Bamick snapped. "There is nothing. Nothing! In that universe, your Joe, your devoted first mate, is dead. Dead, and I cannot even show you his grave. Traitors to the Empire are not shown such respect." Bamick's voice was shaking now, growing louder. "He was cut down, fighting for his life against insurmountable odds, and his body was left to scavengers."

"No," Marvelous shook his head, his mouth dry. "Not Joe. He'd never stop fighting."

"Exactly." Bamick spat, taking a step closer to Marvelous, towering over him. "You continue to deny your importance in the universe, in the lives of your beloved comrades. If he had surrendered, his fate might have been different. They had developed certain ways of reform. But because he was true to himself, because he refused to bow to what he believed was evil, he fought himself to death. Because you were not there to bolster him, to stand beside him, to lift each other to greater heights."

Marvelous wrenched away from Bamick and turned his head. He wasn't sure why, but he felt guilty, incredibly guilty for something that hadn't even happened. He hadn't ever thought for a moment that Joe wouldn't have survived had Marvelous not arrived when he did.

He glanced back at the angel, who was staring at him with pursed lips. Waiting. Marvelous took a deep breath and blinked back the sandy feeling in his eyes.

"Do you understand now, Captain? Without you, AkaRed would still be dead. Basco is mere strides away from claiming the Greatest Treasure for himself, and he has Luka on nearly as short a leash as your bird. Gai cannot stop him, though he has comrades to help him. They are fighting a losing battle as it is. Ahim and Don live together on a moon occupied by Zangyack, in constant fear for their lives. And your first mate is dead." Bamick paused, looking away again, up towards Earth's moon as it peeked out from behind thick cloud cover, glowing as brilliantly white as the snow. "If you still, knowing all of that, still think the galaxy would be better off without you..." He flicked his hand dismissively. Marvelous was strongly reminded of the same gesture Joe had made earlier in the night, when Marvelous had left the ship. "By all means. Go, end your ever so pathetic existence."

"No..." Marvelous said softly. "I just never thought..."

"You never do," Bamick said, and yet a touch of chiding fondness was creeping back into his voice. "Go back to them now, Captain. Be mindful of what I've shown you tonight. Sure, much of it can't at this point come to pass. But some things are always in the balance. You hold them together, Captain Marvelous. Don't abandon them." He smiled. "Next time, I won't be so nice."

"Next time?" Marvelous asked with a smirk.

"Oh yes, unless you think you've learned your lesson well enough this time."

"You know, I very well might have." Marvelous answered, his voice cocky and self assured.

Bamick laughed softly, and made that dismissive shooing gesture again. "Go, then. Stop hanging around here."

That said, Bamick turned away again. He walked down the street as any average person might, but just when he reached the end of Marvelous' line of sight, he seemed to turn and disappear, the streaks of white in his hair catching the moonlight like nothing more than a flurry of snow.

Marvelous turned. As drunk as he had been earlier, he found his ship called to him and he knew innately where it was waiting. With a confident grin, Marvelous moved towards it, starting at a brisk walk and breaking quickly into a joyful run.

He missed his friends.

X

As Marvelous hauled himself onto the deck of the Galleon, he was unsurprised to find Joe waiting for him, coming down out of the crow's nest with snow on his shoulders and caught in his hair.  
"Where have you been?" He grumbled irritably when he came face to face with his Captain, quirking one eyebrow at the no doubt silly smile on Marvelous' face.

Joe stiffened slightly when Marvelous decided to answer with a hug. He threw one arm around Joe's waist, the other over his shoulder, and squeezed tight, only deciding just in time that lifting the first mate off his feet was probably a bad idea.

Joe relaxed soon enough, but only until his warm hands found Marvelous' bare arms. "You stupid idiot," Joe muttered fondly. "Come inside before you die of exposure."

Joe continued to lecture Marvelous as they moved across the deck and into the ship, though in a typical Joe fashion the admonitions were delivered in short sentences weighted with long pauses full of heavy disappointment.

Marvelous refused to feel guilty for something that had only happened in an alternate reality, and indeed wasn't even entirely his fault (could one be blamed for their own non-existence?) in that reality. Still, he kept close to Joe, sliding an arm around his shoulders, letting Joe support him and making sure Joe didn't notice that he was being supported in turn.

The crew was all still awake, and Marvelous tried not to think that they weren't resting out of worry for him. Don's eyes went wide when he saw them, and he rushed across the cabin to pull the Captain away from Joe. He shoved him down into his chair and leaned close, pressing the back of one wrist to Marvelous' forehead, then cupped his cheek in his palm.

"Soup!" He announced to the room, and Marvelous noticed Gai scurry into the galley immediately, presumably readily obeying Don's order. "And tea, if you could, Ahim?"

"Of course, Doc-san." Ahim said softly, standing from where she'd been sitting beside Luka and crossing the room, pausing briefly in front of Marvelous to fix him with a little glare and a shake of her head. She didn't lecture him, though. She didn't need to, her disappointment was obvious.

Marvelous settled back in his chair and closed his eyes, simply appreciating where he definitely knew he belonged. When he opened his eyes again, he was not in the slightest bit startled to see Bamick in the room.

And yet, not quite. This wasn't the corporeal Bamick who had gripped Marvelous' arm firmly and escorted him across time and space. This Bamick seemed to glow a bit around the edges, like a poorly rendered hologram, and when Marvelous squinted and turned his head just so, he found he could see through Bamick.

The angel was crouched beside Joe, examining his face with his lips thoughtfully pursed. Glancing up, he noticed Marvelous watching and he smiled, a warm and almost fatherly expression. Bamick's hand still hovered over Joe's shoulder, as if he was afraid Joe might feel it if he set it down.

Joe turned his head slightly towards Bamick, and Marvelous' breath caught in his throat, but Joe quickly shook his head, blinking confusedly and cutting the deck of cards in his hands.

Marvelous tilted his head, his eyebrows twisting curiously. Joe looked up from the cards, holding them out towards Marvelous. "You in?" He asked. Luka was leaning forward, waiting patiently for her hand.

From the galley, Marvelous heard the trill of a bell that he recognized as Don's favorite timer going off. Bamick laughed, a gentle sound, and Marvelous found he was upset when it was obvious that only he could hear it. Bamick winked at him, and suddenly spread his wings, not shining white like the Goseigers' but dark as deep space except for a few mottled patches that matched his hair.

The great wings seemed to fill the cabin as they spread. Bamick flapped them once and disappeared with no further hint of his presence except a slight fluttering of the end of Joe's ponytail that Marvelous is sure no one else had noticed.

"Sure," Marvelous said softly, standing from his chair and moving to sit beside Luka on the love seat. "Just a few hands, though. Then, when Doc's done in the kitchen," he leaned forward and gripped Joe's leg, the leg he'd been limping on all night. "You let him take a look at this, alright?"

Joe sighed and rolled his eyes, pursing his lips and he looked remarkably like Bamick for a moment. The question was on the tip of the Captain's tongue, but he couldn't bring himself to ask. He simply shook his head and accepted the hand Joe dealt him.

Marvelous knew everything was alright, just the way it should be, when he saw how abysmal his cards were.

But he still planned to loudly protest when Joe beat him. Just like always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Artwork by [trololous](http://trololous.tumblr.com/)/[reversere](http://reversere.tumblr.com/).


End file.
